Finding aid for the Wim Swaan photograph collection, 1951-1995 96.P.21
Lynda Bunting and Alina Sinetos.
Special Collections
1998
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Wim Swaan photograph collection
Creator:
Swaan, Wim
Identifier/Call Number: 96.P.21
Physical Description:
60 Linear Feet
150 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1951-1995
Abstract: A comprehensive collection of approximately 48,000 photographic prints, transparencies, slides and negatives in black-and-white
and color by a self-taught photographer and practicing architect who traveled widely, documenting the art, architecture, and
landscape of the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Western United States. Also included are a small quantity
of correspondence with publishers, agents, colleagues and friends, sales accounts, a manuscript, research notes, and a copy
of his master's thesis.
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Language of Material:
English
.
Scope and Content of Collection
A comprehensive collection of photographs, approximately 34,450 black-and-white negatives, contact prints and enlargements
and approximately 13,450 color transparencies, slides and prints by a self-taught photographer and practicing architect who
traveled widely and published many large-format books devoted to the art and architecture of various cultures. Included are
a small quantity of correspondence with publishers, agents, colleagues and friends, sales statements, research notes, a manuscript,
and a copy of his master's thesis.
Most images, taken in situ between 1951-1995, reflect Swaan's interest in facades, architectural details and decoration. Main
concentrations include Gothic, Medieval, Baroque and Renaissance Europe, Islamic Spain and Morocco, Turkey, Egypt and Iran,
Ancient Egypt and Greece, Asia, including India, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, Pre-Columbian and
Colonial Latin America, and the landscape of the American West.
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged in three series: Series I. Book projects, 1963-1995; Series II. Other photographs, 1951-1995; Series
III. Papers, 1958-1995.
Biographical/Historical Note
1927: Born Willem Albertus Swaan September 6 in Kokstad, South Africa.
1950: Bachelor of Architecture, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
1950-1951: Travelled in Europe and Egypt. Worked for Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew in London on the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
1952-1960: Returned to South Africa. Worked for Andrews and Niegeman in Cape Town. Moved to H. H. Le Roith and Partners, Johannesburg,
first as an employee, later as partner in charge of design. Projects: apartment buildings, schools, industrial and commercial
buildings.
1958: Master of Architecture, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Thesis: "Low-cost housing: a survey of economic
and sub-economic housing for the lower-income groups with special reference to housing European families with children in
South Africa," written while Swaan worked as a full-time architect for Le Roith and Partners. Later attended the Yale School
of Organization and Management and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
1959-1960: Studied Zen Buddhism and researched Japanese architecture and landscape design at Chotokuin Zen Temple, Kyoto.
1960: Emigrated to London.
1961: Traveled extensively in Southeast Asia, Iran and the Middle East.
1963: Moved to the United States.
1963-1966: Joined Perkins and Will Architects, New York.
1966: Became a United States citizen.
1966-1968: Sabbatical in Europe.
1971-1972: Eighteen-month tour of Europe.
1972-1981: Partner at Perkins and Will.
1975-1981: Vice President at Perkins and Will.
1979: Elek Books Ltd. sold to Granada Publishing. Published only one other book after this point.
1981: Director of Health Facilities Planning in Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum's New York office. Oversaw the new Veterans
Administration Hospital, Manhattan, addition, and other large health facilities located throughout the United States.
1990: Received a special citation from the American Institute of Architects for distinguished achievement as a historian and
photographer of the art and architecture created by diverse cultures throughout the world.
1994: Retired as Director of Design at Architecture for Health, Science and Commerce, Tarrytown, NY.
1995: Died October 1 of pulmonary fibrosis.
Separated Material
The following books were transferred to the library: Nims, C.F.
Thebes of the Pharaohs. London: Elek Books Limited, 1965.
Swaan, Wim.
Lost Cities of Asia: Ceylon, Pagan, Angkor. London: Elek Books Limited, 1966.
Tucci, Giuseppe.
Tibet. London: Elek Books Limited, 1967.
Hambly, Gavin.
Cities of Mughul India: Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri. London: Elek Books Limited, 1968.
Anderson, William.
Castles of Europe: From Charlemagne to the Renaissance. London: Elek Books Limited, 1970.
Swaan, Wim.
The Late Middle Ages. London: Elek Books Limited, 1977 (2 copies).
Pollitt, J.J.
Art in the Hellenistic Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Brooke, Christopher and Roger Highfield.
Oxford & Cambridge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Processing History
Lynda Bunting processed the collection and created the finding aid in 1998. Alina Sinetos reprocessed portions of the collection
and revised the finding aid in 2015.
Acquisition Information
Gift of the Willem A. Swaan Estate, received 1996. One binder of images of Latin American sites received in 1999. One box
of images of Latin American sites received in 2000.
Preferred Citation
Wim Swaan photograph collection, 1951-1995, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Accession no. 96.P.21
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa96p21
Publication Rights
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Digitized Material
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Color transparencies
Contact prints
Copán Site (Honduras)
Decoration and ornament, Architectural
Tikal Site (Guatamala)
Tiwanaku Site (Bolivia)
Usfahan (Iran)
Mogul Empire
Medici, House of
Mecca (Saudi Arabia)
Mayas -- Antiquities
Photographs, Original
Persepolis (Iran) -- Antiquities
Nepal -- Antiquities
Monasteries -- Europe
Thebes (Egypt : Extinct city)
Susa (Extinct city) -- Antiquities
South Africa -- Pictorial works
San Agustín (Huila, Columbia) -- Antiquities
Tibet (China) -- Antiquities
Japan -- Social life and customs
Istanbul (Turkey) -- Antiquities
Machu Picchu Site (Peru)
Landscape photography -- West (U.S.)
Extinct cities -- Mexico
Extinct cities -- Asia, Southeastern
Hundred Years War, 1339-1453
Gelatin silver prints
Decoration and ornament, Islamic
Architecture -- Pictorial works
Europe -- Pictorial works
Diffusion transfer prints
Architecture -- Europe
Architecture -- Byzantine -- Istanbul
Architecture -- Middle East
Architecture -- Latin America
Architecture, Medieval
Architecture, Rococo
Architecture,Islamic
Architecture -- Asia
Acropolis (Athens, Greece)
Architecture, Baroque
Architecture, Gothic -- Europe
Architecture, Hellenistic
Asia -- Antiquities
Art, Medieval
Art, Hellenistic
Art, Flemish
Color slides
Cathedrals -- Europe
Castles -- Europe
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
University of Cambridge
University of Oxford
Book projects, Series I.
1963-1995
General Physical Description note:
circa 42 linear feet
Arrangement note
Projects are arranged chronologically by publication date. Within individual boxes, photographic materials used for publication
are arranged in plate number order; materials not used for publication and contact sheets are generally arranged geographically.
Scope and Contents note
Series I contains a nearly complete set of photographs for Swaan's entire book production, consisting of 18 publications,
four unfinished projects, and one project in progress at the time of his death. Most projects contain black-and-white prints,
color transparencies and slides, black-and-white contact prints, and black-and-white negatives. Additionally, a small number
of projects include Swaan's notes, and the files for the book
Japanese lantern include the manuscript draft.
Mecca the Blessed, Madinah the Radiant,
1963
Scope and Contents note
Swaan was not the principal photographer for this book.
box 1, folder 1
Black-and-white photographs used for publication plates
box 67, folder 1
Color transparencies used for publication plates
box 1, folder 2-3
Photographs used for publication plates
box 1, folder 4
Photographs used in publication (non-plates)
Photographs not used in publication
box 67, folder 2
Transparencies used for publication plates
box 67, folder 3
Transparencies not used in publication
Constantinople from Byzantium to Istanbul,
1965
box 4, folder 1-2
Photographs used for publication plates
box 4, folder 3-4
Photographs not used in publication
box 68, folder 2
Transparencies used for publication plates
box 68, folder 3
Duplicates of transparencies
box 4, folder 6
Photographs used for publication plates
box 4, box 5
Photographs not used in publication
box 5, folder 6
Contact prints
Scope and Contents note
Includes one sheet of contact prints labeled "Philippines".
box 53, box 54
Manuscript draft
Scope and Contents note
Contains many ink drawings.
Thebes of the Pharaohs,
1965
box 6, folder 2-3
Photographs used for publication plates
box 6, box 7
Photographs not used in publication
box 71, folder 1
Transparencies used for publication plates
box 71, folder 2
Transparencies and slides not used in publication
Isfahan, Pearl of Persia,
1966
box 8, folder 1-2
Photographs used for publication plates
box 8, folder 3
Photographs of objects in museum collections
box 8, folder 4-5
Photographs not used in publication and duplicates
box 8, folder 6
Contact prints
Scope and Contents note
Images of Afghanistan, Iran, Damascus (Syria), and Egypt.
box 73, folder 1
Transparencies and slides used for publication plates
box 73, folder 2
Transparencies of objects in museum collections
Lost Cities of Asia: Ceylon, Pagan, Angkor
1966
Selected digitized images from Lost Cities of Asia: Ceylon, Pagan, Angkor: 1966
Scope and Contents note
Production materials for the publication
Lost Cities of Asia: Ceylon, Pagan, Angkor. Primarily images, both published and unpublished, that document the ancient art and architecture of present-day Sri Lanka,
Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Thailand. Unpublished images also include content that falls outside the scope of the subject
of the publication, such as the Grand Palace in Bangkok and wooden houses in rural areas of Thailand.
box 9, folder 3
Photographs used for publication plates
box 9, folder 4
Photographs used in publication (non-plates)
Photographs not used in publication
box 73, folder 4
Slides and transparencies used for publication plates
box 74, folder 1
Slides not used in publication
Age of Plantagenet and Valois,
1967
Scope and Contents note
Swaan was not the only photographer for this project.
box 11, folder 1
Photographs used for publication plates
box 11, folder 2
Photographs not used in publication
box 26, folder 1-5
Contact prints
Scope and Contents note
Filed with contact prints for
Castles of Europe: From Charlemagne to the Renaissance (1970).
box 90
Negatives
Scope and Contents note
Filed with black-and-white negatives for
Castles of Europe: From Charlemagne to the Renaissance (1970).
box 74, folder 3
Color transparencies used for publication plates
Morocco: Marrakesh, Fez, Rabat,
1967
Selected digitized images from Morocco: Marrakesh, Fez, Rabat: 1967
Scope and Contents note
Production materials for the publication
Morocco: Marrakesh, Fez, Rabat. Primarily images, both published and unpublished, that document the art and architecture of Morocco. Unpublished images
also include views of cities not listed in the publication title, such as Salé, Rissani and Meknès.
box 11, folder 3-4
Photographs used for publications plates
box 11, folder 5-6
Photographs not used in publication
box 75, folder 1
Transparencies and slides used for publication plates
box 75, folder 2-3
Transparencies and slides not used in publication and duplicates
box 12, folder 3
Photographs used for publication plates
box 12, folder 4
Photographs not used in publication
box 77, folder 1
Transparencies used for publication plates
box 77, folder 2
Transparencies and slides not used in publication and duplicates
Cities of Mughul India: Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri,
1968
Selected digitized images from Cities of Mughul India: Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri
Scope and Contents note
Production materials for the publication
Cities of Mughul India: Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. Primarily images, both published and unpublished, that document the art and architecture of the Mughal periods in India.
Unpublished images also include content that falls outside the scope of the subject of the publication, such as government
buildings in New Delhi and buildings designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret in Chandīgarh.
box 12, folder 6-7
Photographs used for publication plates
Photographs not used in publication
box 14, folder 1
Photographs of objects in museum collections
box 77, folder 4
Transparencies and slides used for publication plates
box 77, box 78
Transparencies, slides and prints not used in publication
Flemish Cities, Their History and Art,
1969
Scope and Contents note
Swaan is credited as the primary photographer for this book, but it also contains many images by others.
box 14, folder 3
Photographs used for publication plates
box 14, folder 4-5
Photographs not used in publication
box 15, folder 1-2
Notes
Scope and Contents note
Includes handcopied excerpts from texts on Gothic architecture.
box 15, box 16
Photographs used for publication plates
Photographs not used in publication and duplicates
box 81, box 82, box 83, box 84, box 85
box 79, folder 3
Transparencies used for publication plates
Transparencies not used in publication and duplicates
Medici: A Great Florentine Family,
1969
box 20, folder 4-5
Photographs used for publication plates
box 21, box 22
Photographs not used in publication and duplicates
box 85, folder 2
Transparencies used for publication prints
box 85, folder 3
Transparencies not used in publication
Castles of Europe: From Charlemagne to the Renaissance,
1970
box 22, box 23
Photographs used for publication plates
Photographs not used in publication
box 24, folder 2-3
Belgium, Holland and Britain
box 25, folder 1
Germany, Austria and Switzerland
box 25, folder 2
Portugal and Czechoslovakia
box 25, folder 5-6
Duplicates of photographs
box 87, folder 1
Transparencies used for publication plates
box 87, folder 2
Transparencies not used in publication
Monastic World,
1974
Scope and Contents note
The repository does not have any of the the images used for color publication plates for this project. Color plates lost by
Granada Publishing. See Moira Johnston files in Series III for letter dated 20 October 1982 which notes their loss.
box 27, box 28, box 29
Photographs used for publication plates
Scope and Contents note
Includes some alternate images.
box 29, box 30
Photographs not used in publication and duplicates
box 91, box 93, box 94
Negatives
Scope and Contents note
Boxes 93-94 contain the black-and-white negatives for three projects:
Monastic World,
Late Middle Ages, and
Baroque & Rococo Architecture and Decoration.
box 91, folder 1
Color transparencies not used in publication
box 30, folder 6
Handwritten index of publication plates
Late Middle Ages,
1977
Scope and Contents note
The repository does not have any of the black-and-white or color images used for publication plates for this project. See
Moira Johnston files in Series III for letter dated 20 October 1982 which notes their loss.
Photographs not used in publication and duplicates
box 33, folder 6
Italy
Scope and Contents note
This country does not appear in the publication.
box 91, box 93, box 94
Negatives
Scope and Contents note
Some black-and-white negatives filed with those from
Monastic World in Box 91. Boxes 93-94 contain the black-and-white negatives for three projects:
Monastic World,
Late Middle Ages, and
Baroque & Rococo Architecture and Decoration.
box 92
Color transparencies not used in publication
Baroque & Rococo Architecture and Decoration,
1978
box 35, box 36
Photographs used for publication plates
Photographs not used in publication
box 37, folder 3-4
Central and Eastern Europe
Duplicates of photographs
box 38, folder 4
Central and Eastern Europe
box 93, box 94, box 96, box 97
Negatives
Scope and Contents note
Boxes 93-94 contain the black-and-white negatives for three projects:
Monastic World,
Late Middle Ages, and
Baroque & Rococo Architecture and Decoration.
box 95
Transparencies used for publication plates
box 95
Transparencies not used in publication
Lost Civilizations of America,
circa 1977-1981
Scope and Contents note
Materials related to an unfinished project.
box 39, folder 3
Notes and photocopies of articles
box 98, box 99, box 149
Color transparencies and slides
Spanish Colonial Baroque in America,
circa 1978-1981
Scope and Contents note
Materials related to an unfinished project. Locations visited and photographed by Swaan include Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador,
Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Honduras and the United States.
box 40, folder 1-8
Notes, photocopies of articles and shot lists
box 42, box 43, box 44, box 101, box 102
box 100, box 101, box 102, box 103
Color transparencies and slides
Hellenistic Art and Architecture,
circa 1978
Scope and Contents note
Materials related to an unfinished project.
box 45, folder 4
Duplicates of photographs
box 46, folder 1-3
Contact prints and photocopies of contact prints
Persepolis and Susa,
circa 1970s
Scope and Contents note
Materials related to an unfinished project.
box 8, folder 6
Iran
Scope and Contents note
Filed with contact prints for
Isfahan, Pearl of Persia.
box 46, folder 7
Museum objects at the Louvre
box 106, folder 3
Color transparencies and slides
Oxford and Cambridge,
1988
Scope and Contents note
The repository does not have any of the black-and-white or color images used for publication plates for this project.
box 47, folder 3-6
Notes and photocopies of articles
box 48, folder 1-2
Photographs not used in publication and duplicates
box 48, box 49
Contact prints and photocopies of contact prints
box 107, folder 1
Color transparencies not used in publication and duplicates
Art and Architecture of Nepal,
circa 1995
Scope and Contents note
The repository does not have any of the black-and-white or color images used for publication plates for this project. This
project was in process at the time of Swaan's death.
box 50, box 51
Photographs not used in publication and duplicates
box 109, box 110
Color transparencies and slides
box 55
Book jackets
Scope and Contents note
Many clipped.
Other photographs, Series II.
1951-1995, bulk 1988-1995
1988-1995
Physical Description:
14.5 Linear Feet
Arrangement note
Materials are arranged by photographic campaign in rough chronological order.
Scope and Contents note
Series II contains photographs not published in book format by Swaan of various geographical regions. Coverage is extensive
for Islamic Turkey and Egypt, Ancient Egypt, India, Pakistan, the landscape of the American West, and stained glass. Some
images of sites in Turkey, Egypt and India duplicate those in Series I, which Swaan shot approximately twenty five years earlier.
Most images are represented only in color transparencies and slides, and do not exist in printed form. A number of images
were held at photo stockhouses for commercial sale.
Photographic experiments,
circa 1964
Scope and Contents note
Materials documenting Swaan's experimentation with different techniques. Primarily photographs taken in and around Swaan's
first New York apartment in 1964.
box 56, box 57, box 58, box 59
Photographs
Scope and Contents note
Versos of many of the prints contain Swaan's annotations.
box 112
Color slides and transparencies
box 59, folder 2
Europe,
1951-1952
Scope and Contents note
Black-and-white contact prints.
South Africa,
circa late 1950s
Scope and Contents note
Images of early paintings and architecture, people types, landscape views, buildings, and animals from various regions.
Greece (Acropolis),
circa early 1960s
Scope and Contents note
All images are black-and-white.
box 59, folder 5
Contact prints
Scope and Contents note
Noted on many of the sheets: "Negatives with Gordon Bishop".
New York, and Wyndover Woods,
circa 1964
Scope and Contents note
All images are black-and-white. Includes images of Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Flatiron Building.
box 59, folder 7
Portugal,
circa 1960s
Scope and Contents note
Black-and-white contact prints.
Miscellaneous,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes images of objects from the Marjorie Merriweather Post Russian Collection, and of various locations in Europe, the
Near East and the Far East.
box 114
Color slides and transparencies
box 60, box 118, box 119, box 120, box 121
box 110, box 111
Negatives
Scope and Contents note
Black-and-white negatives filed with black-and-white negatives for
Art and Architecture of Nepal. See Series I, Boxes 110-111.
box 118, box 119, box 120, box 121, box 122
Color transparencies and slides
Scope and Contents note
Includes images of Agra, Sikandra, Fatehpur Sikri, Baria, Ajmer, Jaipur, Pushkar, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Ranakpur, Udaipur, Mt.
Abu, Khajuraho, Delhi.
box 110, box 111
Negatives
Scope and Contents note
Black-and-white negatives filed with black-and-white negatives for
Art and Architecture of Nepal. See Series I, Boxes 110-111.
box 117, box 122
Color transparencies and slides
Egypt, Yemen, Damascus,
1990
box 60, box 123, box 124, box 125, box 126, box 127
box 123, box 124, box 125, box 126, box 127, box 128, box 129
Color transparencies and slides
Scope and Contents note
Boxes 128-129 contain mostly color slides of Islamic Egypt returned from the FPG [Freelance Photographers Guild].
box 61, box 131, box 132, box 133, box 134, box 135
box 138, box 139
Negatives
Scope and Contents note
Includes some negatives from 1962.
Color transparencies and slides
box 131, box 132, box 133, box 136, box 137
box 134, box 135, box 136, box 137
box 61, folder 3-4
Uncontracted and non-book photographs,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Mix of all styles and periods.
box 61, folder 5-7
Contact prints not for Elek,
1968-1969, 1971-1972
Scope and Contents note
Mix of all styles and periods.
box 115, box 116
Stained glass,
1986
Scope and Contents note
Color slides and transparencies.
box 140, folder 1
England,
1994
Scope and Contents note
Color slides.
box 140, box 141
Italy,
1994-1995
Scope and Contents note
Color slides and some black-and-white negatives and contact prints. Swaan's last photo expedition.
American landscape
1975-1995
Scope and Contents note
Mostly color slides and transparencies, with some black-and-white contact prints and black-and-white negatives throughout.
box 142
Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico,
1975-1976
box 142
New Orleans plantation houses,
1977
box 142
New Mexico and Arizona,
1980, 1995
box 143
Yellowstone and the Tetons,
1982
box 143
Oregon and Colorado,
1983-1985
box 144
Alaska, Vancouver and Puget Sound,
1984
box 144
Death Valley and Southern States,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes images of Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.
box 145
Colorado and California,
1982
box 147
Various places in the Eastern United States,
1988-1989
Scope and Contents note
Includes images of New York, Washington (D.C.), Pennsylvania, Virginia, Missouri, and specifically Philadelphia, University
of Virginia, Monticello, Station St. Louis, and Amish Country.
Papers, Series III.
1958-1995
Physical Description:
3 Linear Feet
Arrangement note
Materials are arranged by topic.
Scope and Contents note
Series III comprises correspondence, invoices, and permission requests for sales and book projects. The letters between Swaan
(photocopies) and his London agent are interspersed with personal information. Also included are authorizations from governments
and cultural institutions for Swaan to photograph locations abroad, some notes and the original copy of his two volume thesis.
Camera Press Ltd. (represented Swaan's production that was not handled by Elek),
1966-1995
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence and sales statements.
Moira Johnston (Swaan's London agent from 1981-1995 for photos in Elek books),
1977-1994
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, mostly business but some personal, contracts, sales statements.
box 63, folder 1-2
FPG (Freelance Photographers Guild) International,
1984-1995
Scope and Contents note
Lists of submitted photos, sales statements and correspondence.
box 63, folder 3
Les Editions Réalités,
1970
Scope and Contents note
Mostly correspondence.
box 63, folder 4
Cornell University Press/Harper & Row,
1977-1981
Scope and Contents note
Mostly invoices for book sales to Swaan.
Miscellaneous inquiries,
1968-1995
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence concerning reproductions and permission to publish.
box 64, folder 4
Miscellaneous financial documents,
1976-1979, 1987
Scope and Contents note
Includes expense accounts for various trips, a letter related to preparing taxes for 1976, and income from photography for
the 1987 tax year.
box 64, folder 6
Authorizations (used)
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence that gives Swaan permission to photograph various sites.
box 64, folder 8
"The Armor of Light,"
1984-1985
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence with Meredith Lillich about a proposed book on stained glass. See Series II, Boxes 115-116 for related color
slides and transparencies.
box 64, folder 9
Latent Image (periodical),
1991-1992
Scope and Contents note
Notes.
box 64, folder 10
Working notebook,
undated
box 64, folder 11
Notes,
undated
Scope and Contents note
Handwritten translations of French phrases.
box 65, box 66
Master's thesis,
1958
Scope and Contents note
"Low-cost housing: a survey of economic and sub-economic housing for the lower-income groups with special reference to housing
European families with children in South Africa". Submitted to the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, October 1958.
2 volumes.
